Quick Overview

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–78) is unquestionably
the most celebrated architectural engraver in history:
his prints of Rome, in particular, have thrilled
architects, illustrators, archeologists, historians, and
collectors for centuries.

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Description

The Complete Etchings of Rome

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–78) is unquestionably
the most celebrated architectural engraver in history:
his prints of Rome, in particular, have thrilled
architects, illustrators, archeologists, historians, and
collectors for centuries. The prints, more than two
thousand, most drawn directly on copper plates,
coming from his workshop on the Via del Corso, made
him a celebrity in his day and cemented his place in
our collective mental image of ancient Rome, from its
best-known ruins to his imaginary prison spaces (the
“carceri”). Piranesi’s two volumes, the Views of Rome
(Vedute di Roma) of 1745 and the Antiquities of Rome
(Antichità Romanae) of 1748 are gathered together here
for the first time in a single high-quality volume to form
a definitive collection of all of Piranesi’s etchings of
built Rome. Widely but often badly copied, Piranesi’s
engravings are reproduced here to the exacting
standards of our Classic Reprints series and in a large
(9 x 12 inches) format to ensure the highest-quality
facsimile, drawing on originals from the archives
of the Classical Institute of Architecture and Art’s Ross
Collection. This is an essential addition to the library
of anyone who studies or is enamored of the splendor
of ancient Rome.